


After The Tea Is Gone

by Angel Ascending (angel_in_ink)



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Future Fic, Gen, Grieving, In My Head This Is A Soft Fic About Death, It'll Probably Give You Feelings, Not a Future I WANT To Happen Mind You, Off-screen Deaths, Shock, Speak With Dead, You Hear Me Universe?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-29 14:45:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19022071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angel_in_ink/pseuds/Angel%20Ascending
Summary: “It’s not the soul of the person that you talk to. Bringing back the soul, well, that’s a more complicated spell, and not one to be used lightly. Instead, you speak to what remains behind after the soul has left the body. It’s like—“And here Caduceus's father had paused, searching for the right words.“It’s like making tea in a teapot. When all the tea has been poured, there’s still sediment in the bottom, right? It was a part of what made the tea, but now it’s the only part that’s left, after the tea is gone. That’s what answers your questions when you speak with the dead, all the little bits that are left behind.”





	After The Tea Is Gone

Caduceus had been nearly certain that when he finally found the Kiln, up in the mountains, more than likely the temple would be abandoned and the Kiln long since grown cold. His parents had lost contact with the very distant branch of their family many seasons after the blight in the Savalierwood had begun to accelerate, and while it had been possible that there was family up there still tending the place that they didn’t know about and thus couldn’t magically send messages to, well, the Clays were a pragmatic people. Still, even though Caduceus had known realistically what he would probably find there, he had hoped for the best. Perhaps there really would be a distant relation or two still tending the place. Better still, perhaps another one of his siblings or maybe even one of his parents would be there. He hadn’t prayed for it, but he had hoped.

*********

“Caduceus?”

Caduceus blinked and looked up from the body. Jester was standing there, her usual smile replaced with a concerned expression. “Jester. Hi.”

“Hi,” Jester said back softly. “I’d ask if you’re okay, but that seems like a really stupid thing to ask.”

“It’s not stupid,” Caduceus reassured her. “I’m— probably not okay. I’m a little bit numb right now. In shock.” He nodded. “Yes, I think I’m in shock.”

“Oh Caduceus,” Jester said as she moved toward him, but Caduceus put up a hand to stop her.

“It’s all right,” Caduceus said. “I think being in shock might make the next part easier.”

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to,” Jester said. “I still have enough spells, I can—“

She was trying to be kind, and Caduceus appreciated that, but he had no time for it. Shock would only last so long before grief took its place, and he had so much left to do. Grief would make things harder. “I should do it. He knows me. Knew me.” There were other bodies in the stone halls, in the echoing chambers, and they all looked like they could be related to him in some distant way. But the body he was kneeling in front of, that body he knew very well. “Is anyone looking for the book?”

“Caleb is,” Jester said gently. “You told Caleb to look for the book, and Beau and Yasha are moving the other bodies like you asked, and you sent Fjord and Nott to go look for wood so we could light the Kiln.”

Caduceus didn’t remember any of that, but he believed Jester. “You should help Caleb look for the book,” he said. There would be a book of ceremonies somewhere in the temple that would contain instructions on what rituals to perform to purify and restart the Kiln. “He shouldn’t be alone. The buddy system is important.”

“But if I go, then _you’ll_ be alone,” Jester protested.

“I won’t be alone,” Caduceus said quietly, and watched Jester’s frown deepen slightly even as understanding touched her features.

“I’ll be back,” Jester finally said. “And if you need anything, send me a message. Promise me.”

“I promise,” Caduceus said solemnly and watched her walk away before rummaging around in his bag for incense, his father’s words coming back to him even after all this time.

 _“It’s not the soul of the person that you talk to. Bringing back the soul, well, that’s a more complicated spell, and not one to be used lightly. Instead, you speak to what remains behind after the soul has left the body. It’s like—“_ And here his father had paused, searching for the right words. _“It’s like making tea in a teapot. When all the tea has been poured, there’s still sediment in the bottom, right? It was a part of what made the tea, but now it’s the only part that’s left, after the tea is gone. That’s what answers your questions when you speak with the dead, all the little bits that are left behind.”_

Caduceus’s mother had explained the spell using echoes and reflections as examples, but for some reason it was the tea analogy that had always stuck with Caduceus.

The smell of incense was not enough to cover the smell of decay, of old blood, and that was fine. He looked down at the body again as he whispered a simple prayer. He still couldn’t tell how long ago the murders had taken place. The bodies had all been inside the temple, away from scavengers and the elements, and the chill of the mountains had preserved the corpses well. So well that one in particular had been easy to identify. The firbolg’s hair was the blue of a summer sky at twilight, just before night truly fell, and there was a faint scar across the bridge of its nose. There was a wound in his chest as well, and a long dried puddle of blood that had spread across the stones, but it was the scar that Caduceus focused on.

“I broke your nose during staff practice,” Caduceus murmured. “I screamed louder than you did, and you ended up trying to comfort _me_ while blood was pouring from your nose. Momma healed it, but you always had the scar.”

The corpse took a breath that seemed to go on for an age, and its eyes opened. Death had leeched all color from the irises, but Caduceus held on to the memory of deep blue eyes and all the emotion they had once held.

“Hello, Corrin,” Caduceus said gently even as he felt tears sting his eyes. “What happened here?”

**Author's Note:**

> So basically what happened was Taliesin was on Talks last night and he was talking about his siblings, and *also* about his parents casting Speak with Dead a lot in their line of work, to give the bereaved peace of mind, that sort of thing, and I was thinking about how Caduceus had explained to Fjord about how the spell Speak With Dead works, and how the soul doesn't come back, it's just an echo, and ALL THAT just sort of mixed itself together in my head and now it's a fic.
> 
> I'm angel-ascending on Tumblr and angel_In_ink on Twitter if y'all want to stop by and say hi!


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